Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe

American businessman, investor, venture capitalist and previous mentor of Mark Zuckerberg, Roger McNamee, warns us about the dangerous evolution of Facebook, and how their negligence is ultimately resulting in something akin to a dystopian nightmare.

Technology - Social aspects, Technology and civilization, Social psychology

NBS Text

Popular Culture & Media: General Interest

ONIX Text

General/trade

Dewey Code

303.483092

Catalogue Code

961615

Description of this Book

American businessman, investor, venture capitalist and previous mentor of Mark Zuckerberg, Roger McNamee, warns us about the dangerous evolution of Facebook, and how their negligence is ultimately resulting in something akin to a dystopian nightmare. Sat in his dorm room, nineteen-year-old Mark Zuckerberg would never have imagined that his newly born social media platform would evolve into the election-meddling monster that it is today. Facebook's involvement in international politics, whether that be the USA's 2016 presidential election or the UK's Brexit referendum, has left its 2.1 billion users feeling deeply invaded. In You Won't Believe What Happened Next, McNamee tracks the downhill spiral that Facebook has initiated, exposing it as one of the main foundations of misinformed politics. He explores how algorithms are easily monopolized to feed users' interests - which is all fun and games when this is limited to a simple shoe brand - but becomes immediately alarming when they are manipulated into making serious political decisions. Given the omnipresence of technology combined with the current political climate, McNamee's startling expose is a riveting must-read.

Awards, Reviews & Star Ratings

NZ Review

`Roger McNamee's Zucked fully captures the disastrous consequences that occur when people running companies wielding enormous power don't listen deeply to their stakeholders, fail to exercise their ethical responsibilities, and don't make trust their number one value.' - Marc Benioff, chairman and co-CEO of Salesforce `Roger McNamee is an investor with the nose of an investigator. This unafraid and unapologetic critique is enhanced by McNamee's personal association with Facebook's leaders and his long career in the industry. Whether you believe technology is the problem or the solution, one has no choice but to listen. It's only democracy at stake.' - Emily Chang, author of Brotopia `Zucked is the mesmerizing and often hilarious story of how Facebook went from young darling to adolescent menace, not to mention a serious danger to democracy. With revelations on every page, you won't know whether to laugh or weep.' - Tim Wu, author of The Attention Merchants and The Curse of Bigness `McNamee puts his finger on serious problems in online environments, especially social networking platforms. I consider this book to be a must-read for anyone wanting to understand the societal impact of cyberspace.' - Vint Cerf, internet pioneer `Roger McNamee is truly the most interesting man in the world-legendary investor, virtuoso guitarist, and damn lucid writer. He's written a terrific book that is both soulful memoir and muckraking expose of social media. Everyone who spends their day staring into screens needs to read his impassioned tale.' - Franklin Foer, author of World Without Mind

Author's Bio

Roger McNamee has been a Silicon Valley investor for 35 years. He co-founded successful funds in venture, crossover and private equity. His most recent fund, Elevation, included U2's Bono as a co-founder. He holds a BA from Yale University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Roger plays bass and guitar in the bands Moonalice and Doobie Decibel System and is the author of The New Normal and The Moonalice Legend: Posters and Words, Volumes 1-9. He has served as a technical advisor for seasons two through five of HBO's Silicon Valley series and was also responsible for raising the money that created the Wikimedia Foundation. His essays have been published in the Guardian, The Washington Post, USA Today and Washington Monthly.